View full sizePeter Chen / The Post-Standard (2011)Reporters interview Tom Blair, owner of Sweet Spot Development in Skaneateles, the high bidder at an auction in October 2011 for the former Camillus Cutlery.

Camillus, NY -- A small development firm out of Skaneateles is moving ahead with plans to transform the former Camillus Cutlery into a medical wellness facility.

Sweet Spot Development recently closed on the property it purchased for $210,000 at an auction last fall, and replaced the “For Sale” signs with a new “Camillus Mills” sign.

The once-vibrant Camillus Cutlery buildings have been lifeless since the knife-making plant that overlooks Nine Mile Creek closed in February 2007 after more than 100 years.

The company plans to rehabilitate the 45,000-square-foot former Camillus Cutlery headquarters building, creating 35,000 square feet that could be leased to medical wellness tenants, Blair said. So far, the company has signed agreements with two unnamed tenants, which plan to open multiple medical offices in a portion of that space, he said. The project also calls for five upscale apartments in 5,100 square feet above the medical offices on Main Street in the village of Camillus.

View full sizeJustin Fogarty / The Post-Standard (2011)An exterior shot of the former Camillus Cutlery building in the village of Camillus. The former knife-making plant is being turned into a medical wellness facility and upscale apartments.

The old gray, 90,000-square-foot factory building along Nine Mile Creek will be demolished because of structural and environmental problems, said Roy J. Brunner, Sweet Spot Development’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. That area will become parking and green space, and potentially additional buildings could be built there in later phases of the project, Brunner said.

The company is working with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to clean up the 4 1/2-acre property. The old factory contains solvents once used to clean knives, as well as traces of oil and petroleum products from the machinery, and traces of heavy metals, Brunner said. Tests are being done to determine if the buildings contain asbestos, he said.

The company expects the DEC to approve its application to begin remediation in November. Once that happens, the site can be cleaned, and demolition and construction can begin, Brunner said.

“If everything goes according to schedule, we hope to move tenants in next summer sometime,” he said.

The project received $2.3 million through the Restore New York program. The village will administer the grant money, which will be given to the company as the project progresses.

The Central New York Regional Economic Development Council also is asking the state to award $500,000 to the Camillus Mills project.

The total cost to rehabilitate the former Camillus Cutlery is expected to cost $8.75 million, Brunner said.

“We’re eliminating an eyesore and revitalizing the downtown business district in the village of Camillus,” Brunner said.

Camillus Village Mayor Patricia Butler, a retired licensed practical nurse, said Camillus Mills is a great addition to the village.

The medical practices at Camillus Mills are expected to employ about 90 people, Brunner said.

Up the hill, in the town of Camillus, is Medical Center West. But once medical offices open at Camillus Mills, Butler said, residents will have more options.

“We certainly have a population here in the western end of the community that can benefit from an additional medical facility,” Butler said, “and their needs can be met.” 